New Look at ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Drops Ahead of October Release
The first official poster for It: Welcome to Derry has been revealed, giving fans a creepy new glimpse of the upcoming horror series. The show is set to arrive this October on HBO and will take viewers back to the haunted town of Derry, Maine.
It: Welcome to Derry is a prequel to the It movies from 2017 and 2019 and is based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel. The show is set in the 1960s, years before the events of the films. It will also dive into the backstory of Pennywise the Clown, one of the most terrifying characters in modern horror.
The series was created by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs, the same team behind the It films. Andy Muschietti will direct several episodes, including the pilot. The show stars Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar, and Stephen Rider. Bill Skarsgård will return as Pennywise, the role he made famous in the movies.
Production started in May 2023 in Toronto, Hamilton, and Port Hope, under the working title Greetings from Fairview. Even though filming paused during the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2024, it was later confirmed that shooting for the first season was completed by August.
The show will have nine episodes and is planned as a multi-season story. In an interview with Radio TU in January 2025, Andy Muschietti said the series will explore different time periods. He explained that the story is told backwards and that future seasons are expected to be set in 1935 and 1908.
He said the series is inspired by parts of the It novel that weren’t shown in the movies, especially the interlude chapters. “There’s a reason why the story is told backwards,” he shared.
Back in February 2023, HBO gave the green light for the series, and Variety confirmed that the project was moving forward. More casting news followed in April and June, with several actors joining in supporting roles, including Madeleine Stowe, Rudy Mancuso, and Kimberly Norris Guerrero.
Fans of the original It movies have been waiting for a deeper look into Pennywise’s dark history, and It: Welcome to Derry promises to deliver just that. With a chilling poster now out and the release set for October, the countdown has officially begun.
The series will premiere on HBO, and while it was originally planned for HBO Max, it’s now expected to stream under the network’s new platform strategy.
Got thoughts on the poster or the show? Drop them in the comments.
